


Everybody has Scars

by orphan_account



Category: Dark Knight (2008), The Joker Blogs (Web Series)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Childhood Memories, Dark, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Empathy, F/M, Jealousy, Manipulation, Murder, Psychological Drama, Serial Killer, Sexual Content, Suicide Attempt, Sympathy, Violence, dark themes, the joker's past, theif
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-04-05 13:23:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4181430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lisa Watkins returns to Gotham to work at Arkham Asylum. Doctor Harleen Quinnzel, refuses to work with patient 4479 after he murders her fiance on their wedding day so Lisa is put on his case. When coming face to face with patient 4479, repressed memories of her childhood are brought to the surface, and conflicted feelings threaten to sabotage her career.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everybody has Scars

The sun was setting slowly over Gotham city. Oranges and deep reds painted the horizon and cast long shadows over the sidewalk as Lisa Watkins walked quickly home.

She'd had to stay over after school and finish a report she was supposed to be doing. Before she knew it, it was six O'clock and the janitor was ushering her to go home. She'd packed as quickly as she could and walked off without another word. In truth, she should have called someone to pick her up, her mother would, if her step father wasn't drunk out of his mind, and if he was, it wouldn't have mattered, she was walking anyway.

Gotham at night wasn’t exactly safe, especially for a child, walking home alone, there were thugs and bad guys, always trying to take their frustrations out on someone else. Lisa watched her shadow getting longer, the sky growing darker and the air growing colder. She pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders and almost missed the whimper in the alley as she walked past.

She stopped, listening closely, the alley was dark, shadows stretching and hiding the things lurking in them. She pursed her lips and listened closely, a soft, hurt whimper came again, the hair stood up on the back of her neck stood on end as she took the first step. The alley was short, a brick wall making no way out but the way she came in, she stepped carefully, avoiding pools of liquid and staying alert for rats. She shivered with disgust at the thought of one crawling over her shoe. It was not an event she was particularly eager to experience. She wrapped her arms around herself. Another whimper, accompanied by a defeated sob.

“Hello?” her voice echoed off the brick walls of the alley. The whimpers stopped, she heard shuffling and followed the sounds, a large, neglected dumpster stood at the end of the alley, overflowing with long wasted garbage and smelling putrid. She covered her nose with her arm as she moved around it, trying to avoid the stench of decay. “Hello?” she called again. And again, she was met with silence. Lisa took a deep breath, and stepped around the corner.

A small body sat with it’s back against the bricks, knees to their chest and arms locked tightly around them. Lisa couldn’t see the face, it was buried in the person’s knee caps, they had straggly, wiry, brown hair and his fingernails were caked with dirt and dried blood, his hands smeared with blood as well. Lisa would have ran away, but she didn’t feel threatened, the person was small enough to be her age, instead she knelt down in front of them, fisting her hands into the fabric of her school dress on her thighs. The body was shaking, with silent sobs, no doubt being repressed now that she had shown up.

“Are you hurt?” no answer. Lisa bit her lip, the awkwardness of the situation growing on her. She sat there, dumbfounded and at a loss for words. The person in front of her took a shaky breath, shoulders rattling as they breathed deeply.

“I was….cut.” she started, unexpecting of the small, soft voice that came from the body. A boy’s voice. She watched his fingers unclench and his shoulders relax, as he slowly lifted their head. “It...it hurts. I’m ugly.” the sun had gone down, only the thin glow that was left just before complete nightfall, allowed her to see the glinting brown eye of the boy in front of her. His hair covered his face, obscuring his features and making him seem even more frightening. She swallowed hard and smiled uneasily, hoping he saw it as reassuring.

“You’re hurt? Do you want to go to the doctor? I can take you?” he shook his head, another whimper escaping him. “Do you have a home? I can walk you home.” his body went rigid, as though she’d slapped him, she watched the brown eye she could see, widen and grow dark, with hidden anger.

“I have no home.” his voice was icy, and blunt, as if there was going to be no argument. Lisa scattered for something else to say, wanting to comfort him and help him at the same time. She froze, as he reached up, dragging his fingers over her cheek, she didn’t like that, her stomach churned with uneasiness, his thumb flicked over her mouth, tracing the edges and dragging her bottom lip down. “Are you scared?” his voice was low, dangerous, a layer of amusement hidden under the words. Lisa shook her head, hoping her body language displayed the state of her words.

“No. I’m not.” she whispered, adrenaline making her short of breath, her heart pounded, loud and rhythmic in her ears. The boy chuckled, lifting his head and pushing his hair out of his face, Lisa’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as her breath was suspended, knocked from her body.

Blood had dried, congealing and caking, but not exactly hiding , the jagged wounds on his face. Two, identical, cuts on his face, widening his lips and making his smile larger, scarier, he watched her reaction, watched the way her breath left her body and her shoulders jumped in fear. He was scary now. He would always be scary. “How about now?” he sneered, ignoring the pain in his face, he was enjoying the fear in her eyes and the quick little breaths she took, the way she shook and goose pimples danced across her skin. He never thought fear would be so... _funny_.

Lisa licked her lips. The longer she stared at his face, the easier it was to get past the fear. The boy jerked back, surprised, when she reached up towards him. She brushed her fingers against his temple, his hair was soft, feathery, as it ran over her fingers, his eyes narrowed as he watched her, waiting for the joke, the punchline she’d tease him with. She gave him a tender smile, burying her fear, deep in the pit of her stomach. As young as she was, she knew how he must have been feeling, alone, isolated, unloved. It wasn’t fair, and she could sympathize. She cupped his cold cheek in her hand, and leaned forward, meeting his eyes for the first time, leveling with him and showing him she wasn’t a threat. The words that left her pretty little mouth, would stay with him for years to come.

  
“Everybody has scars.”


End file.
